Search services at the Swiss Patent Office

Since Swiss patent applications are not examined for novelty and inventiveness, in order to make Swiss patent applications novel and inventive and valid, a search request can be submitted to the Swiss Patent Office. IGE will provide a quick and inexpensive detailed report on the prior art to help applicants evaluate whether their inventions meet the requirements of patent applications.

Patent experts will search all available published patents and scientific and technical literature to find documents that may constitute prior art, anticipate novelty or raise questions about inventiveness. With these results, applicants can assess the likelihood of the patent being granted and decide on the next steps - maintain the application, apply for a patent abroad, amend the patent claims or withdraw the application.

Retrieval request requirements:

• The search must be based on Swiss patent applications
• Applicants can conduct searches within 14 months of the priority or filing date.
• If the applicant decides not to conduct a search, any third party authorized to inspect the application may submit a search request
• Once the search request and search fee have been paid, the search request is deemed to have been filed.

The search will be based on the original application documents or amended technical documents submitted at the time of patent application filing. IGE will search up to 10 claims; additional claim fees will be charged for claims exceeding 10. If a third party submits a request, the search will be based on the relevant technical documents submitted at the time of application filing.

The application documents must be filed in German, French or Italian. The IGE can also conduct a search based on application documents written in English. However, the search report will be issued in the official language of Switzerland. In case of lack of unity of claims, the IGE will only search the first inventive subject matter in the claims. Other subjects will be searched against the payment of a search surcharge. If a search is no longer possible or feasible due to ambiguity and lack of clarity, insufficient disclosure of information, lack of industrial application, lack of technical features, exceptions to patentability or any other reason, the IGE will inform the applicant or prepare a limited search report.

The IGE will only search the visible search area and the search will be considered complete when the search results cannot be significantly improved even with disproportionate efforts. The search report will be sent to the applicant and will be published within 18 months from the earliest priority date. If a third party has submitted a request, the report will be sent to the third party and will not be made public.

This search is optional for applicants and has no impact on the substantive examination of the patent application.